Thursday, April 11, 2013

So Much Stupid

There's enough stupid in the Mitch McConnell "bugging" story to fill several scandals.

Jacob Conway, who sits on the executive committee of the Jefferson County, Ky. Democratic Party, told the public radio station WFPL
that Shawn Reilly and Curtis Morrison of Progress Kentucky bragged to
him about recording the meeting, which was held Feb. 2 at a newly opened
McConnell campaign office in Louisville, Ky. In one of the recordings,
which were obtained by Mother Jones,
an aide to McConnell can be heard discussing Ashley Judd's history with
depression and how it might be exploited in next year's campaign.

Let's break that down:

Stupid 1: Never tell anyone outside the Family what you're thinking again.

"Progress Kentucky bragged to him about recording the meeting… "

I get the idea that Progress Kentucky, the same outfit that got in trouble for bashing McConnell's wife's ethnicity (when they could have just left it at bashing her record as W's Labor secretary), has a relationship to the Kentucky Democrats not all that different from the often strained relationship between Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (sic) and the Iowa Democratic Party.

After the backlash from this one they still assumed the Democratic Party folks, the same ones who shoved "too liberal" Ashley Judd out of the way, were automatic off the record buddies? Exactly wrong:

"The only reason that I came forward with what I knew was I was trying
to protect the Democratic Party," Conway said. "I believe in our party's
values, and I was doing what I thought was best for the party because I
did not want their bad behavior, their poor mistakes — I shouldn't say
"bad behavior" — their mistakes, their lack of judgment to hurt our
party's efforts here in the state Kentucky and in Jefferson County, here
in Louisville."

Stupid 2: On Feb. 2, McConnell opened his campaign headquarters in the Watterson
Office Park in Louisville and invited trusted GOP activists and select
media outlets to an open house. The event lasted roughly two hours.
Afterward, McConnell and several campaign advisors held a strategy
session in an office meeting room.

No. That's the meeting you have in the Inner Inner Inner Sanctum, or at Mitch's hunting lodge out in the woods a mile from the nearest neighbor. I don't know that he has one, but if not he should have bought one just to have this meeting.

Almost, but not quite, as stupid as bragging to the donors about 47% of the voters wanting free goodies while forgetting that the bartender who you didn't even thank for the drink was still in the room.

Stupid 3: And this is the stupidest of all.

40 years after Tom Eagleton, we're STILL ready to bash people for seeking mental health care? The ONLY person who comes out of this whole thing looking good is Ashley Judd.

The focus is all going to be on the cloak and dagger tactics. But even though it was gained through at best dubious means, the content of the meeting should really be the focus.